B.P.R.D. – “An Open Grave”
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Illustrated by Duncan Fegredo
Dark Horse Presents, one of the finest anthologies in recent memory, has hit another one out of the park with #8. Everything in this volume, but especially the preview of Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson’s The Massive, is worth your money.
However, being Mignolaversity, we’re only interested in B.P.R.D. – “An Unmarked Grave,” so hit the jump to hear what David Harper and I have to say on the subject.
Brian: The Mike Mignola/John Arcudi-scripted portion of Dark Horse Presents #8 ties up a some loose ends from Hellboy: The Fury #3, and for the first time since that issue, the death of Hellboy is discussed. David, what did you think of this brief epilogue?
David: Well, it was slight, but it was very nice. It didn’t really tie anything up besides letting Kate (and through her, the whole of BPRD) learn about Hellboy’s death, but it was a nice emotional arc and follow-up to Russia for the character. Her finding out one of her oldest friends is dead, that she was dumped and that she apparently should be moving to England is a lot to take in. Plus, PRETTY PICTURES. I loved Fegredo’s art here, and it was nice to see him doing more emotive, story based work after the ferocity of the recent Hellboy arcs. But it is a sad swan song for him. Fegredo…I shall miss you. What about you?
Brian: I liked it – I felt that it touched on some of the great parts of the Hellboy mythos, and set the stage nicely for what is next for Kate. The cemetery and the church are the two defining settings of Hellboy, so it was fitting that his earthly story ends there. As for Fegredo’s art, what can you say? It was a beautifully drawn story, and he hit all the emotional beats required, even if his Kate looks a bit older than she typically does in B.P.R.D.
England is clearly being set up as Kate’s new base of operations, but could England be set up as B.P.R.D. ground zero for the next few years? Or am I just reading too much into this?
David: I think aspects of it might shift there, or could at the very least. But as for overall operations, I doubt it. The next arc takes place in the Pacific Northwest, and so much of what is going on in terms of crazy is the South of the US right now that they can’t change things up too much.
That said, it wouldn’t be very good storytelling if England was basically massacred because of BPRD type things happening…and they just ignore it. I think that might be part of the reason we’re getting such a blend of storytellers and such a large amount of minis this year. They have a lot of ground to cover. It was a really nice little piece though, and a fitting coda to The Fury and filled with good moments for Kate. It was hard not to like, even if it was quite short.
Brian: Agreed – let’s not spill too many more pixels on this. It’s a little hard to rate, as it is so slight, but I’ll give it a 7.5. What about you?
David: It’s an 8 page story that gets an 8 from me. It was an interlude, and a fine one at that.
Brian: Fair enough. See you all next week!
Final Verdict: 7.75 – Buy (because the whole book is great, not just these 8 pages)
